Themes

Themes are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary
work.

The Loneliness of Adolescence

Anne Franks perpetual feeling of being lonely and misunderstood provides the
impetus for her dedicated diary writing and colors many of the experiences she
recounts. Even in her early diary entries, in which she writes about her many
friends and her lively social life, Anne expresses gratitude that the diary can act
as a confidant with whom she can share her innermost thoughts. This might
seem an odd sentiment from such a playful, amusing, and social young girl, but
Anne explains that she is never comfortable discussing her inner emotions,
even around close friends. Despite her excitement over developing into a
woman, and despite the specter of war surrounding her, Anne nonetheless
finds that she and her friends talk only about trivial topics.

Feelings of loneliness and isolation also play out in the larger scheme of the
annex. All the inhabitants feel anxious, fearful, and stressed because of their
circumstances, yet no one wants to burden the others with such depressing
feelings. As a result, the residents become impatient with one another over
trivial matters and never address their deeper fears or worries. This constant
masking and repression of serious emotions creates isolation and
misunderstanding between all the residents of the annex.

Generosity and Greed in Wartime

Annes diary demonstrates that war brings out both the best and the worst traits
in people. Two characteristics in particular become prominent defining poles of
character in the annexgenerosity and greed. The groups livelihood depends
on the serious and continual risks taken by their Dutch keepers, who are
generous with food, money, and any other resources they can share.

Although the annex is hardly luxurious, the Franks and van Daans feel their
situation is better than that of the thousands of Jews who are in mortal danger
outside. As a result, they extend Mr. Dussel an invitation to join them and to
share their limited resourcesan act of true generosity. The fact that Mr.
Dussel accepts the others offer but never makes any attempt to acknowledge
or reciprocate their generosity might be attributed to the extreme
circumstances. More likely, however, is that Mr. Dussel is the kind of person in
whom hardship brings out the qualities of greed and selfishness. Indeed, the
two people Anne most reviles, Mr. Dussel and Mrs. van Daan, share the
tendency to look out for themselves far more than to look out for others.

Becoming a Woman

Anne is thirteen years old when she first goes into hiding in the annex, and she
turns fifteen shortly before the familys arrest. Thus, her diary is a powerful
firsthand record of the experience of a young girl as she matures. Although
Anne faces the challenges of puberty under unusual circumstances, the issues
she struggles with, the changes in her body and her psychology, are universal..
Because Anne does not readily confide in her mother or her sister, she turns to
her diary to understand the changes she perceives and to question issues
about sexuality and maturity. In later entries, as Anne begins to see herself as
an independent woman, she compares herself to her mother and to other
women of her mothers generation, imagining what she will be like in the future.

Fear

The Franks and the van Daans are fortunate enough to have made advance
plans to go into hiding should the need arise, but they still know they are not
completely safe from the Nazis. Their security depends on the cooperation of
many different people outside the annex, as well as a good amount of luck and
hope. Their fear grows each time the doorbell rings, there is a knock on their
door, or they hear that there is a break-in at the office building. They hear
reports from the outside world about their friends who are arrested and about
non-Jews who are suffering from a lack of food. As the war rages on around
them, all peopleJews and non-Jewssuffer.